HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING: Suvival of the fittest at SouthCentral AAA Regional Wrestling Championships

At this point, it's a matter of survival.After narrowing the field through respective sectional tournaments, the top-shelf talent that remained gathered at Hersheypark Arena on Friday to begin the gauntlet otherwise known as the District 3-AAA Wrestling Championships.

106-Greencastle-Antrim’s Wyatt Binkley: lost 6-1 decision against Evan Bogdan of Palmyra; lost 12-10 decision against Brandon Rodriguez of Dover.

113-Greencastle-Antrim’s Cody Carbaugh: won 12-0 major decision over Lake Laughman of New Oxford; lost 8-2 decision against Austin Camacci of Central Dauphin; won 6-5 decision against Hunter Faith of James Buchanan; will face Daniel Grant of Twin Valley in consolations.

113-Chambersburg’s Tanner Shoap: won 7-0 decision over Aidyn Miller of Hempfield; won 13-2 major decision over Connor Moyer of Wilson; will face Derek Wilson of South Western in semifinals.

113-James Buchanan’s Hunter Faith: lost 8-2 decision to Josh Charles of Warwick; won 6-0 decision over Michel Duncan of Harrisburg; lost 6-5 decision to Cody Carbaugh of Greencastle-Antrim.

126-Chambersburg’s David Rump: won 14-0 major decision over Scott Baker of Exeter; lost 3-2 decision against Cortlandt Schuyler of Manheim Twp.; won 3-0 decision over Alec Zorbaugh of Spring Grove; will face Jacob Werner of Wilson in consolations.

152-Chambersburg’s Garett Hammond: won 22-5 technical fall over Austin King of Manheim Central; won 10-3 decision over Tanner Druck of Dallastown; will face Austin Rose of Central Dauphin in semifinals.

170-Shippensburg’s Chris Williams: won 14-6 decision over Andrew Woltman of Hershey; lost 18-3 technical fall against Ben Swarr of Garden Spot; lost 6-4 decision against Austin Trephan of CD East.

195-Shippensburg’s Dylan Herb: won 7-1 decision over Zaire Lawrence of Dallastown; lost 5-4 decision against Jan Johnson of Governor Mifflin; won 10-0 major decision over Chris Orantes of Conestoga Valley; will face Dontez King of Chambersburg in consolations.

195-Chambersburg’s Dontez King: won 6-3 decision over Lemir Isom of Harrisburg; lost 6-4 decision against Jeff Pickel of Lampeter Strasburg; won 3-2 decision over Colby Auman of Conrad Weiser; will face Dylan Herb of Shippensburg in consolations.

After narrowing the field through respective sectional tournaments, the top-shelf talent that remained gathered at Hersheypark Arena on Friday to begin the gauntlet otherwise known as the District 3-AAA Wrestling Championships.

Several area grapplers made the trip, with a few now significantly closer to the ultimate goal of competing for a state title.

In each of the 14 weight classes, 16 qualifiers were assembled into brackets based on sectional results, with just eight remaining at the conclusion of Friday's marathon.

Of those eight, four will make the cut for the PIAA tournament at today's end, taking a significant step toward the pinnacle of high school wrestling.

Two participants hailed from our own backyard, with Greencastle-Antrim's Cody Carbaugh and Wyatt Binkley mixing it up among the district's elite.

Carbaugh, who finished one win shy of a state berth last season, convincingly defeated New Oxford's Lake Laughman in his opening bout at 113, cruising to a 12-0 major decision. The momentum quickly stalled in the quarterfinals however, as the senior appeared overmatched against Central Dauphin's Austin Camacci, losing 8-2 while dropping into the consolation ladder.

Facing elimination, Carbaugh dug deep, gutting out a 6-5 decision against a familiar opponent in James Buchanan's Hunter Faith, thus staying around for Day 2.

Binkley wasn't quite as fortunate, with the sophomore coming up short in the first two district bouts of his young career, losing by decisions of 6-1 and 12-10, bringing his promising campaign to a close.

The big area winner on Friday was Chambersburg, with all five Trojan wrestlers still standing as of this morning.

Headlining the Chambersburg contingent was the duo of Tanner Shoap and Garett Hammond, both of whom made it through to today's semifinals with a pair of impressive victories Friday.

Shoap, fresh off winning the Section I title at 113, shut out Hempfield's Aidyn Miller in the opening round (7-0) before making short work of Wilson's Connor Moyer en route to a 13-2 major decision.

Hammond was equally as dominant at 152, earning a technical fall in his first match prior to notching a 10-3 decision over Dallastown's Tanner Druck.

The likes of Garrett Kyner (120), David Rump (126) and Dontez King managed to stave off elimination after falling into the consolation bracket, thus remaining in contention for Chambersburg on Day 2.

Of note, King's opponent today will be Shippensburg's Dylan Herb, who is also still alive in the consolations at 195.

Herb's teammate Cary Hess is also moving on, sandwiching two pins around a lost decision at 285.

Both of JB's representatives, Faith and Devin Reed, were eliminated on Day 1, each posting a record of 1-2.

All competitors in today's consolation matches will need two straight victories in order to qualify for states while one win for Shoap and Hammond punches their ticket.